Zaria tragedy – a nation in need of healing

Ihave struggled with keeping my thoughts to myself over the outcome of the altercation between the Shiite community in Zaria and the Nigerian Military. Matters that have to do with religion at all times, need to be handled with caution because misunderstanding based on faith is the most difficult to tackle. But it is impossible to suppress shock and anger one feels at the gory sight of so many perished lives piled up in their tens - the correct figure of the dead has yet to be given but over a hundred are reported to have lost their lives. There is no way one can rationalise this eventuality. The military highhandedness in this situation is condemnable and one must not shy away from saying so.

The practice of blocking passages has for a long time been a growing “normal” occurrence in Nigeria. Mosque lanes on Fridays, Church lanes on Sundays, funeral processions, week-end parties for whatever reason have been used as reason to deny other road users a right of way for long periods in all our cities. Though against the law, authorities neglected their duties and indeed encouraged it, and society just conditioned itself to timing movement in care to avoid being caught in the middle of such inconvenience. Aided by neglecting authorities, aberration becomes the norm even as any discerning minds always knew that one day, violence of grave proportions would result from this.

I and probably most Nigerians were caught unawares by the swift and deadly turn of events. In my case, I have experience of being caught in the traffic build up on Zaria Bridge because a procession by the Shiite was ongoing. With family in the vehicle, we were heading to Kaduna to catch up with the funeral service of a relation. We parked right in the middle of the street and simply waited things out for more than an hour. I was of course uncomfortable because the marches have tended over the years to end up violently, and here I was, of different faith, stuck with family in the middle of this mass of spiritualists in black. In time the procession passed and traffic moved. But I was angry. For this, I was therefore without empathy when I read about the altercation with the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai. I saw posts on line, of the General, confronted by Shiite adherents negotiating a passage. I noted immediately that it was not appropriate to have blocked the right of passage for anyone on that route. It was the only route and offers no alternatives particularly if one was just a passing traveller with no familiarity with Zaria beyond its long There is usually no way to predict the final outcome of action. Oftentimes, a small spark ignites a whole inferno that consumes homes and cities. The small act of blocking passage on a day the Army Chief is en route has spelt mayhem that has terminated lives and left a nation in grave quandary.

It should be openly admitted that the military force used to handle this situation was excessive and uncalled for. It was a failure of intelligence in the first place, not to have noted this Shiite marching in the offing to enable a preemptive avoidance of the altercation. We are all aware that there is no love lost between the Authorities particularly the Military, and the Shiite community. Obviously we are in a far more difficult predicament than we would have been if intelligence had done its work. It is such a shame that this happened when we are at a point of applauding General Buratai’s humane execution of his mandate to end the Boko Haram insurgency, when we have notably achieved much success in subduing the years long insurgency in the North East, and have been inching closer steadily to the return of normalcy. Fate has dealt cruelly with our nation, turning our faint smile of impending fulfilment to a grin of fear of a new peril.

The times call for divine intervention. President Buhari needs wisdom for immediately handling the situation with extreme caution, but firmness on the fundamental tenets of our nationhood. He needs to speak words that will heal a nation now united in grief over the lives lost, mindful that he leads a democracy operating a constitution that guarantees right to life, freedom of choice, expression, and movement. He must restore the confidence of our diverse people now already ahead of him, as Muslim and non Muslim passionately sympathise as one, with one another for the lost lives. There is needed now not trading of blame, but open channels of dialogue for peace at whatever compromise that ensures law and order, quantification of damages and immediate reparation compensation.